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The people referred to in the above verses are those the actual position of whose faith has been clearly declared by God Himself:-
"The dwellers of The desert say: ' We believe Say thou; Ye believe not but say ye we sunibit and faith has not yet entered into your hearts-" 49:14
The application of the above verses of the Holy Qur'an is not restricted to any particular people of any particular age; those refered to in the verses are the people of all times, if they own the qualities referred to in the verses.

The Successor to the First Kalif Nominated

When on 13th Jamadi II. 13 A.H. (634 A.D), Abu Bakr got ill and got hopeless of recovery, he nominated Omar in his place. (For details the readers are refcrred to TKS., translation by Jarret). Any enlightened man or woman would ask:
1. What happened to the principle of election resorted to in the case of the choice of the first Kalif.
2. On what authority of the Holy Qur'an or Hadith or the principle of politics was the appointment of the successor to the first Kalif effected?

The Successor to the Second Kalif Co-opted

WHEN OMAR FELT the approach of his end, he avoided election as well as nomination and appointed a committee of six men of his own choice to elect a successor to him:-
1. Abdur Rahman b. Auf.
2. Ali ibne Abi-Talcb.
3. Sa'd ibne Abi Waqqas.
4. Othman ibne Affan.
5. Zobeir f. Alawam.
6. Talha ibne Obaidallah.
It was by Omar that Ma'aviah was appointed as the governor of Syria. (Mr. Annl., EHI)
To know the details as to what took place and how Othman was elected, and how the Kalifate was conducted by him, one


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would do better by referring to Tabari and Kamil ibne Atheer etc., and W. Muir has given the details in his Annals on p. 324. However, Othman was co-opted to the Kalifate.
Othman' s patronage of his relatives gave further strength to Ma'aviah son of Abu Sofyan to the extent that Ma'aviah's sonYazeed could play the havoc of the heartless wholesale massacre at Karbala, and his issues, the Ommayids, followed by the Abbasides, killed the holy Imams of the House of the Holy Prophet, one after another, until the eleventh of them, and the Twelfth one, like Jesus, was rescued by God to be kept alive as per the will of the Lord.

Fatema's house attacked

IN COMPLIANCE WITH God's command 'Ba1ligh maa onzila ilaik-' (5:67) the Holy Prophet had inaugurated the serial of 'Imamat' (Divine guidance in succession to the Final apostleship) and had placed Ali as the First in charge of it, and had declared it at the historic ceremonial event at Ghadeer-e-Khum, before the multitude of the thousands of the Hajies, on 18.12.10 A.H. at the conclusion of which event was revealed 5:6.. .declaring the religion to be per- fect and Islam to be the religion for man, accepted by God. In pursuance of the expressed divine will of the Lord, Ali could not recognise or yield to the man-made authority set up at the 'Saqeefa' and hence had not paid fealty to it.

Ali to exercise patience

THE HOLY PROPHET who knew through the divine gift of knowledge, as to what would happen after him till the Day of Judgment, had advised Ali to exercise the maximum possible patience against every atrocious move that might confront him.In compliance with the apostolic will, without the least interference into, or any concern with the affairs that proceeded at the ' Saqeefa' , Ali had retired with a determination not to get out until he collects together all the notes on the Holy Qur'an which he had from the Holy Prophet about the external as well as the internal meanings of the Final Word of God.
Without Ali being subjugated, the authority set up at the 'Saqeefa' could not have the seal of the recognition of it, by the Holy Ahlul-Bait and Ali was now the Chief of the Ahlul-Bait, the House of the Holy Prophet, and he would not


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yield. The retirement of Ali was exploited and a charge of conspiracy was coined and the people of the newly set up rule, headed by Omar, collected at the door of Fatema, demanded Ali to come out of the house. The reply from inside was that it was a vow Ali had made not to come out until the collection of the impor- tant notes on the Holy Qur'an is not completed. But the insurgent crowd would not agree and a big row was set into action.

Fatema's house threatened with fire

THE HOLY LADY Fatema, bereaved only a day or two before, deeply sunk in grief, standing behind the door of her abode re- monstrated saying:-
"0' people! it is only yesterday that my father, the Holy Prophet, departed from you and today you have the audacity to attack his house in which his daughter is mourning for him, which door he did not enter but with a salutation on its inmates.
Some historians say that fire and firewood was already collected at the door ofthe holy house with the threat to set the abode on fire and some say fire was already kindled. However, Shibli No mani in his well-known ' Alfarooq' says:-
Some say that fire was already set, but with the short tem- perdness of Omar this act was not improbable." (AF)

Fatema wounded

A VIOLENT KICK at the door from one among the crowd pushed it down on the side of the Holy Lady Fatema standing behind it, breaking her rib and the 'Khatoone Jannat' the Queen of Paradise, fell unconscious and ultimately the hit and the wound killed the Holy Mother along with the baby son in her womb. According to the tradition of the Ahlul-Bait, the Baby was already named 'Mohsin.'

Ali's patiencc

EVEN AT THIS juncture the Lion of God abided with the will of the Holy Prophet and like a helpless one, kept quiet without any resistance or retaliation which, if he had only willed to resort, would have played havoc  the insurgents.


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In short, if the valour and prowess of Ali during the time of the Holy Prophet in the establishment of Islam and its propagation was a wonder, his patience and forbearance and fortitude which he exercised against all the atrocities from even the cowards among the people, was no less a surprise and a wonder.
The point quite obvious in this regard is that to Ali the first concern was the safety, security and the maintenance of the faith and not the owning of any fortune through any temporal power, though the right to be the temporal leader as well, besides being the spiritual guide, in the place of the Holy Prophet, was of none but his, which fact is unanimously acknowledged and openly declared even by his antagonists.

Ali arrested

HOWEVER, WHEN THE crowd shouted to Ali to come out, and even the door of his abode had fallen on the side of his wife the Holy Lady Fatema, throwing her down unconscious and seriously hurt, Ali came out. He was tied by a rope round his neck and the world witnessed the unbelievable sight of Ali the Lion of God, the Con- queror of Khaiber, the Victor against the giant warriors of Arabia, Omar ibne Abda'ood and Marhab, being dragged by the people to the court of the Kalifate. It is to this extent that Ali fulfilled his promise of patience, to the Holy Prophet.
The Holy Prophet had predicted to Ali saying:-
"Others will be preferred to thee when they will not be in their own rights. Resign thyself to it until thou reacheth me at the Spring (Kauthar)." (S.M.)

Ali reads out Salman's mind

ALONG WITH ALI, was also arrested Salman the well known faithful companion of the Holy Prophet and the servant of Ali, on whom the Holy Prophet had conferred the exclusive and the unique honour of declaring him as:-
"As- Salman minna Ahlul- Bait
Salman is of we the Ahlut-Bait Salman was also tied with a rope and was marched behind Ali. Salman was a very old gentleman, who, according to the historians, was more than two hundred years old, for he is reported to have


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died in 35 A.H while he was 250 years of age and according to some historians his age at his death was 350. (EHI)
WhiIe marching under arrest, the oldest devotee of the House of the Holy Prophet could not keep pace with the men dragging him and at the same time he was sunk deep in wonder and surprise saying at heart :-
"What! is this the same Ali, the ever victorious Lion of God whose strength is unconquerable and whose valiance and prowess matchless, who fought and killed the giant warriors of Arabia in single combats and who knew no running way from the battlefields even in the worst of the circurnstances and when even the closest of the compantons had deserted the Holy Prophet?"
Lost in his wonder and the irreconcilable surprise at the absolute patience of Ali, poor old Salman could not keep pace with those who were dragging him violently. Suddenly a violent blow from some one in the crowd, fell on the neck of Salman with a shout to be quick. Ali, who was walking qtietly under the rope, looking down, sounded to Salman behind him:-
"Salman ! the blow thou didst receive is the reward for thy wonder at heart about my silence and patience. what dost thou know Salman ! when to draw the sword and when to he quiet. This is to fulfil the will of the Lord declared to me through His Prophet.

The open cnmity becomes settled hypocrisy

WITH THE ESTABLISHMENT of Islam and the successful conclusion of the ministry of Muhammad, the Last Apostle of God, ended the need to fight any open enemy of the faith or of the Holy Prophet, for there did not remain any in the land who did not profess the faith who could defy it openly. As long as the faith was not firmly established and there were the open enemies strong enough to openly attack Islam and the muslims, there was the need of Ali, the Lion of God the ' Karraran ghaira fararran' , who knew only to fight the enemy of God and of the Holy Prophet and he knew not even to turn his face away from his antagonist, far from runing away from him. Thus Ali was given to the Holy Prophet, with the godly strength, the matchless bravery and the wonderful


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prowess to play the role of the Ever-Triumphant Protector of the faith and the faithful. But with the extirpation of the open opposition and aggression against the faith, ended the duty of the Lion of God, of an open fight against any open enemy, and with the departure of the Holy Prophet from this world, started the problem of the preservance of the faith and the maintenance of the fellowship of its adherents, lest the tender plant of the just established faith which had not yet been sufficiently rooted in the minds and the hearts of the people, would perish for ever, and there was no other prophet to come to re-establish it.
Until the firm establishment of Islam, there were the disbelievers who repeatedly attempted to regain the power and authority for their pagan cult, and with the firm establishment of Islam as an unshakable power, and the Holy Prophet departing from this world, started the struggle within the ranks of those who had embraced the faith half-heartedly, for power and authority which they rest-lessly waited to own for themselves. The one impediment in the way of these opportunists, was the problem of the declared position of the 'Ahlul', Bait', particularly of Ali who was the declared Vicegerent of the Holy Prophet, openly announced both at the very outset of the apostolic ministry (at the ' Daawate-Asheera' the Feast of the the Relatives) and finally at the conclusion of the apostleship, at ' Ghadeer- e- Khum' . Thus the pre Islamic enmity against the Holy Prophet now changed its course against the 'Ahlul- Bait' particularly against Ali, for without subjugating Ali and neglecting the ' Ahlul- Bait' none could have his own way.

The three classes of the people- The believers, the disbelievers and the Hypocrites

WITH THE ADVENT of Islam, the people of Mecca and Madina got sorted into two main groups- the believers and the disbelievers, and among those who professed belief in Islam, there were the sincere ones the ' Momins' and those who had joined the ranks succumbing to the changed circumstances over which they could not gain any hold, they were called the ' Monaftqs' or the Hypo- crites. As regards the sincere believers gnd the hypocrites, Holy Qur'an clearly exposes the fact:-
The dwellers of the desert say ' We believe.' Say thou (0' Our Apostle Muhammad unto them)' Ye do not believe


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(in fact). (Hence) say ye 'we have submitted ' (i.e., only embraced Islam) And the faith has not yet entered your heart-"49:14
Even the declaration of the hypocrites, bearing witness to the apostleship of the Holy Prophet Muhammad has been flatly denied by God, as a false profession:-
"When the hypocrites come unto thee (0' Our Apostle Muhammad) say they (unto thee) ' Verily thou art the Apostle of God, and God knoweth that verily thou art His apostle, and God beareth witness that the hypocrites are certainly liars."63:1
Thus besides the evidence of history, there is the unchalleng- able verdict of the Word of God about the fact that those who profess- ed Islam and called themselves as muslims, during the time of the Holy Prophet, all were not sincere. There were those in whose hearts the faith, far from getting rooted therein, had not even entered, they were only muslims (49 : 14) i.e., those submitted to the circumstances unavoidable for them. Verse 63 :1 clearly gives out that the lip-profession of the faith in the apostleship of the Holy Prophet was not also the genuine conviction at the heart of the people and the people have been clearly termed by God himself, as the Hypocrites.

What happened to the Hypocrites

BESIDES HISTORY, THE Holy Quran is too eloquent and too aloud to declare the fact, about the hypocrites being in a definite group of their own and how busy were the hypocrites in their subversive plans. The importance and the significance of making known the presence of the hypocrites among the muslims and their inimical activities, is quite evident from a separate chapter altogether being assigned to describe their conduct and character and declare their evil intentions and devices.
The wonder is, what happened to the hypocrites, that as the Holy Prophet departs from this world, there is a sudden silence about them, and there is no mention of them at all in any of the writings of the muslims. The amazing questions arise:-
1. Have they all suffered a wholesale death, immediately at the departure of the Holy Prophet, which no history reports?


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2. Or, were they only waiting for the departure of the Holy Prophet and immediately as he left this world, they all, overnight became sincere believers, that there is no mention of them at all?
3. Or, they are those who have joined together and formed an organised front against the House of the Holy Prophet, for only in such a case none can expect the hypocrites themselves to call themselves hypocrites thereafter.
Otherwise where have they gone? What has happened to them that none speaks or makes mention of them at all?

The Possible and the Acceptable Answer

THE ONE AND the only object of the hypocrites and their hidden subversive activities, was the regaining of the power and authority from the Holy Prophet, which they could not do until his stay in this world, They only waited for his departure, and the moment he left, they had their own way and had successfully established themselves in power and authority neglecting the House of the Holy Prophet, (i.e., the Holy Ahlul-Bait).
Thus the dirty body of hypocrisy went under the cloak of general Islam and whenever the evils of hypocricy became too ob- vious to be hidden or to be defended, they were termed as uninten- tional indiscretion of. a well- intended ' Ijtehad.'
The Holy Qur'an and the history is there to vouch that as hypocrites, during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet, they tried the worst possible for them to displace the authority of the Holy Prophet by deserting him in the battles and ultimately even to kill him on his return from the battle of Hunain, and it is a historic fact that Hozaifa the faithful companion of the Holy Prophet, had the list of the plotters who were shown in their very person to the Holy Prophet, by heavens, through a timely lighting. And now as Muslims, having the power and authority which they lusted for so long, they easily bypassed the Holy Ahlul- Bait and established themselves over and above them, and planned to do away with them totally, by killing the godly ones one after another.
Thus, with the departure of the Holy Prophet, ended the peace and the safety for the Ahlul-Bait, and started the age of their godly patience and endurance against the atrocious murderous


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treachery of the people, and simultaneously began the persecution and the slaughter of their devotees.

The Life in the House of the Ahlul-Bait

FATEMA DURING HER lifetime, set the best examples of a riahteous and a correct womanhood on earth.
Her marriage was so simple that if the muslims, particularly those who proudly claim to be the devotees of the Ahlul-Bait, only follow the example in their practical life, they will themselves be the happiest souls in their practical life.
Fatema' s obedience to her husband was ideal and the contented life she led was a Iesson to every muslim woman. Her godliness and godmindedness was a beacon light of guidance to womanhood.
Her treatment to her handmaid ' Fizza' is a practical example to every righteous woman. In her household life even alternate day Fatema herself minded the whole work of the household and Fizza was given rest.
It was Fatema who said that the best thing for a woman is neither to cast her glance on any ' Non-Mahram man nor to expose herself to his glance. It is worth imagining that if women follow this Fatemite Watchword for chaste Womanhood how pure and safe will be womanhood and how graceful, healthy, happy and holy would have been the human society today.

Fatema's Position

THE DISTINaIVE AND the distinguishing titles of the Holy Lady Fatema, the only surviving issue and the most beloved one of the Holy Prophet have already been given above. The following are a few of the well-known declarations of the Holy Prophet about this Holy soul:-
Mansoor bin Makramah records that the Holy Prophet said:-
Fatema is a piece of my flesh. The one incurred her wrath, incurred my wrath too."
A scion of mine is Fatema" said the Holy Prophet " Whatever maketh her happy, maketh me happy, and whatever fllleth her with pain, filleth me too with pain."
Fatema is a part of mine, whosoever annoyeth her,hath annoyed me, and whosoever annoyeth me, hath annoyed


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God, and whosoever annoyed God, hath turned an infidel." (SB., SM., KU., MsT., Etc.)
Before assessing the correct value of the above apostolic decla- rations, one should remember the position of the Holy Prophet under the following announcement of the Holy Qur'an :-
He (the Holy Prophet) speaketh not anything of his own inclination save what hath been revealed to him (by God)." 53:3
It is how for every believer in the Holy Qur'an as the revealed Word of God, to say that if what is declared by the Lord is true, whatever the Holy Prophet said about his Ahlul-Bait, including the above announcements of his about Fatema, was it not the will of the Lord that was communicated to mankind through His Apostle?
About annoying the Holy Prophet, the Holy Qur'an declares:-
"Those who annoy God and His Apostle, God hath cursed them in this world and the hereafter, and He has pre- pared for them an abasing chastisement." 33:57

The miserable plight of the Holy Lady

THIS HOLY LADY Fatema, the dearest of the Holy Prophet, the wife of the First Holy Imam Ali, the Holy Mother of the Eleven Holy Imams, about whom the Holy Prophet had taken the special care to repeatedly announce her divine heavenly position, was the first victim of the treachery of the people immediately after the departure of the Holy Prophet.
First of all, she was the most struck with sorrow and grief at the departure of the Holy Prophet from this world. When the Holy Prophet was about to breathe his last, he found Fatema standing before him shedding tears. He embraced her and said something in her ears. The Holy Lady who was sunk in sorrow and grief and restlessly shedding tears, on hearing what was told into her ears by her departing Holy Father, went into a smile and looked cheerful. When asked about what was it that suddenly turned her sorrow into cheer and made her smile, she said that the Holy Prophet consoled her saying:-
" Grieve not fatema! for thou will be the first among my